Short Stay French Visa Experience at TLS New York

Sharing my experience with the community where I doomscrolled for hours!

Appointment Date: May 2nd 2025; Passport received: May 12th 2025
Processing time: 10 days.
Visa duration and type: Multiple entry, expires in 1 month

I was looking for appointments since 7th of April. This was a week before the VFS to TLS transition. Had no luck with VFS or TLS for appointments in April. This was the earliest I could find, I am due to travel on 17th May.

A bit about myself: I am an Indian national, on F1 STEM-OPT, employed full time in USA. I had previously applied for a UK Visa in 2024 and a Schengen Visa about 12 years ago- but was not required to submit this information.

Documents submitted:

1. Cover letter with detailed itinerary
2. Non-refundable flight and hotel bookings (To and from USA, intra-Schengen flights and accommodation)
3. Invitation letter from my boyfriend and sister (who I'll be staying with for part of the trip)
4. Paystubs and Bank statements for the last 4 months
5. Travel Insurance
6. Proof of legal status in USA (I-20, EAD, State ID)
7. Employment Verification and Leave approval letter.
8. 35 by 40 mm passport photos

Pretty smooth workflow at TLS. Essentially, you just hand over documents, they take your biometrics, click a photo, and you're good to go. Applications are usually transferred to the consulate (Currently, DC is where Schengen visas are being processed in the US) on the same day and processing times are said to be about 15 days. They automatically apply UPS Air next-day shipping, so that's the earliest you can get your passport back.

Happy to answer questions!